CHAPTER 5- TRAINING AND BALL (PART 1)
Marco was very easy to wake up, a habit he picked up in Neverzone through the years, after all you never knew when an attack will come, so he always stored a knife under his pillow and sword under the bed, just in case someone had sneaked into his room. So when poor maid entered his room to wake him he nearly pierced her eye with his trusted dagger, the poor woman was shaking like a leaf, he quickly apologized followed by her gaze to trail down on his chest, he sighed, he have bad habit sleeping without shirt on, he ushered the woman from his room before she got weird ideas how he can compensate for her.
"Another great day...not for Juliet" He stretched and took a quick shower, his limbs relaxed from night of sleep, for a kingdom made mostly from wood they put great effort on cleaning.
"Sir Marco, your squire Juliet is here" he heard one of the maids that serve this part of the castle, he quickly said he will be in a few minutes. He quickly ended his cleaning time and entered the room, he spotted Juliet sitting on his bed looking at his sword, his best sword from Neverzone, red tinting on blade with small skull on hilt, his first possession after his first war.
"I see you discovered my pride," he smiled as she jumped and quickly put the blade back into its scabbard, her eyes wide. He walked towards her and sat on her right side, he grabbed the sword and unsheeted it once more.
"Do you want to know how I got this blade Juliet?" he asked with a small smile as he observed the weapon responsible for the death of thousands, both men, womens and even children. He could hear the answer when he looked from blade to him.
"I got it while I was in my first war, I was a simple soldier at the time, only to take orders from higher people than me, nothing else. Just at the first month of my new job oir squad was ambushed, i never saw such brutality in a fight, they were ruthless, they did not spared even someone who was unable to fight, they played with their victims, killing them slowly, the screams and blood was everywhere...after the fight wich we lost obviously many of us were captured to slavery or as gladiators to entertaining for them" he paused for her to understand each word cearfuly, this tale is one of the moost valuable lessons he got, he will pass it on her.
"i was the one of many who was gladiators, and it wasn't like you know, we weren't living comfortable, in big houses and tons of womens for us to enjoy, we were in dungeon cells, treated like animals, caged and let only for people to gawk at us, at first we tried to protest and escape, but soon realised its not worth, they don't play around the bush, if you disobey you die, you fight you gain food, you die you are thrown to dogs, simple as day and night" he paused once again, he could sense her look of pain and pity directed at him, but he dont wants anyone's pity, pity is weakness in war, you must get rid of it before it kills you.
"Many of us died in the pit because we showed pity to our enemies who were begging for their lives...unfortunately you can't feel that in this kind of place, and we soon realised that...but thats history for another time, come, let start your hellish training" he patted her shoulder and grabbed his sword and walked into big hallway.
"Come on tell me, i want to hear something interesting before your boring lesson" he stopped and turned to Juliet who was looking irritated and bored at the same time, his face blank as he stared at her, she averted her gaze to the wall, funding it more interesting that Marco's eyes.
"training will NEVER be boring, if you must tell something about it then you will say it's painful, brutal and unforgiving, i planned to train you like my master did but i changed my mind a little" if she wants to play unbreakable then she is in for big surprise.
Marco and Juliet were standing on training ground observing soldiers training and sparring, some of them had potential and some of them didn't, what catched Marcos eye was the trainer who ordered the exercises, he must be second hand because his training is very useless.
"Tell me Juliet, do you see something wrong here?" he asked not going to be answered, he glanced at her, she was looking around trying to see something out of the ordinary. At the end she shook her head in denial.
"Then let me answer it for you, he has been ordering them to do exactly the same for the past few weeks, running, lifting and sparing, running, lifting and sparing, do you know why those exercises should be changed often?" he asked once again looking at the person in charge thinking why this person was put to train future Mewni defenders.
"because they will not learn anything new? will they repeat everything and not use it in war?" she said, he raised an eyebrow at her explanation, it was pretty good but not enough for him.
"You are partially right, kid. They are training for war, nothing more nothing less, but they are not fighting against their kind, they are fighting against monsters, they are fast, sneaky, agile, powerful, smart and can use environment to their advantage, what those soldiers need is experience just like monsters, that's exactly what we will be doing" he said confusing young woman, it sounded like they will go to wild and train there, she was going to ask him what he meant by that but she was disturbed.
"Marco, I see you are going to train your student, I hope she will be as good as you in future" a strong voice that belonged to Queen Solaria, soldiers on ground kneeled and welcomed their ruler, Marco and Juliet just bowed to her.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I was just asking her what she thinks of this person in charge" Marco said, gesturing to a man who looked bored, that he shouldn't be here training the hope of victory against monsters.
"and what she thinks?" She raised an eyebrow at the young woman, her piercing gaze pinning the poor girl making her unavailable to answer, but Marco didn't have such a problem.
"i told her that his methods or teaching are very bad and literally useless, i saw him training those people the same tactics for nearly 3 weeks now, it's not surprising your people are dying and losing, they simply don't have any experience" he said not fearing how the Queen of those people will do, verbal expression is really important, especially on such things like soldiers.
"unfortunately our best couches are on front teaching peasants how to fight, the front lines are nearly on fire right now, Monsters are desperate and are attacking more frequently, they should be back here in a month or sooner, we will see" she said not caring the man in question was looking in their direction, or his face that showed pure anger and surprise, Marco rolled his eyes at the man, he is so obvious.
"but don't let me distract you two, i want to put you two on front in two weeks, teach her as much as you can" she nodded and strood of towards somewhere, Marco nodded back and turned to Juliet who was impassive, she expects something hard to do, laps around kingdom, hundreds of exercises, everything she can think of.
"First of all, show me how you engage your enemy, with a sword of course" he took the sword from some weird place, she didn't question it. She barely catched the weapon, it was harder than she predicted, maybe she should train a bit more to be able to swiftly lift the weapon. Juliet rushed at Marco who had his own sword at his hip, he didn't draw it but had his hand on grip. She lifted the sword when she was close enough, she swung it on his head, but stopped when her arm encountered his own sword, she didn't even see him taking it out.
"First mistake, don't run at your enemy with sword above you, you will be dead before you can blink, remember monsters are strong or fast, or both of those, they can simply block your atack and do everything they want to you. When you MUST rush at your enemies are only in charge or group fights to take them by surprise, and ESPECIALLY with not your sword above, you want to keep it low, ready to defend yourself an attack" he took her arms and positioned it as it should be, one leg behind slightly bend and other in front in the same position.
"with that you can easily block attack from weapon and move back to made your own move or make distance between the both of you, of curse in case of spear you MUST close distance, the reason why i'm showing you this is that your strength is not in muscles but in agility and speed, you will use short sword, dagger and throwing knifes, i will teach you how to use them, we will train so much that in your sleep you will be able to kill someone standing in shadows, touch your neck" She did as she was told and felt something wet, she looked at the blood, she didn't even felt that, she looked at her teacher with questioning eyes.
"that's how good you will be in those two weeks, so much that your enemy won't even notice when he has knife in his body, i will teach you how to fight against heavy armored monsters, in short term, i will train you how to defeat any type of enemies, now for the start, take this short sword and we will practice common swings" he gestured to the weapon in his hand, she grabbed it and followed him, when Marco was hiding his sword she saw it was red in color, she wanted to ask about it but stopped herself, there will be time to ask questions, now is not the time.
-I can see he has potential to be a good soldier, or even officer or general, adding that he is from Neverzone that is known for its brutality and unforgiving nature is making him an excellent fighter...but isn't he too young?" the first person said to Solaria who looked with interest at the young man teaching the thief how to fight with a short sword.
"I agree with him, your majesty, this kid IS very good at fighting and tactics. I talked with him once about fighting strategies, some of them were ridiculous but very effective on paper. And I must ask you the same, is he not too young to lead a group of soldiers?" Second person has admiration and doubt in his voice while watching a young person training a woman, WOMAN, how to fight a short sword, womens on frontlines are usually frowned upon, from their weak posture and kind nature, of course the exception is Solaria, who was born a warrior.
"Maybe you are right, in two weeks he and his...student will be sent to the front, we will talk about where they will be later, right now let's continue the previous topic. How is the situation in the frontline?" Solaria didn't want to hear that monsters pushed them against the next defense lane. She didnt even took her eyes from young persons training below her
"it's pretty good if i must say, other than food and medical shortage we are holding it together, nothing to worry about for now, of course he MUST do something about medicine and and food" one of the 17 persons said, making others to murmur among themselves, breaking her stare from Marco hitting Juliet in back of her hand she looked at her trusted Generals, each of them has gained her trust, they are the purpose she didnt lost her kingdom, after her mother passing she ordered for them to be made, she cant manage kingdom AND army at the same time.
"I see, maybe we will expand our field a little, but the question is how monsters are watching this kingdom nonstop, does anyone have any suggestions?" She asked everyone in the room, she saw everyone was thinking hard on how to deceive monsters for enough time to let them expand their walls, finally after a few awkward minutes one of them got an idea.
"Maybe we can use the strategy Sir Marco said to me a few days ago. The point is to form a line with shielders and spearmans right behind them, next are archers, they can shot as many monsters as they can, the breaking point is on their sides, when they will crush into our front line the cavalry will be unleashed to destroy their positions from sides and behind, give me paper and feather please" the blonde guy got the items he wanted, on big sheet of paper he wrote few lines, the first one were shields, next after them were spears, next behind them with some distance were archers, and finally hidden in sight four groups of cavalry, lines drawn next were the outcome of battle, how exactly it works, monsters crushing into the formation and killing monsters from sides and back, not letting them leave or retreat, Solaria studied the paper for few minutes calculating the numbers she will lose and how many monsters will lose.
"Do you think they will send small numbers? maybe they will think we are going to their camp and will send most of their army for us, do you think we can afford that?" she asked with frown, the possibility for that was very big, after all, one of the camps were in the forest where they want to expand, monsters might get wrong idea and storm them with brute force, especially when most of their army is on the other side of kingdom, if monsters attack they will be forced to pull their forces back and let enemy take important and strategic place, and they cant let that happen.
"maybe Sir Marco will have some ideas, the lad is smart and cunning, he might help us get upper hand in case things get out of control" the brunette with rough and brutal voice exclaimed voicing his opinion, Solaria must agree like other generals, Marco was very smart and cunning person, especially in fighting and managing.
"Alright, can one of you go for him, I want his opinion as soon as possible" she ordered with finality, one of the generals stood and rushed through the doors to get the young soldier, hopefully he can help them in this situation.
"At the same time, do any of you have any ideas what we can do?" she asked and took the biggest seat in the entire room, just as her generals started thinking of ideas.
"we will end it today Juliet, hide your sword and go to medic, i kinda went overboard this time, sleep it and we will continue tomorrow" Marco looked at the bruised and blooded person in front of him who was panting and barely standing, she nodded not trusting her voice to talk, she cheated her sword and walked towards the medical bay,. Marco sheathed his own red blade, after staring at it for a few seconds he sighed and walked from the training ground. At that exact moment he heard someone calling him, he turned around and spotted a brunette man with many medals on his chest, he was obviously a general obviously.
"Queen Solaria wants you in the meeting room, she wants to know your opinion on some matters, come with me Sir. Marco" he barked, Marco sighed, he didn't have good relations with many people in the castle, some of them hated him for being in the eye of the Queen while many admired his abilities in fight and how devoted he was.
"lead the way" he exclaimed without any emotion, the man sneered and turned around. To say the walk was uncomfortable was nothing, it was agonizing, both of them didn't said a word, the only sound were boots on floor, guards greeting and generals murmuring about 'kids in army' 'what is she thinking on hearing kids opinion' and many more comments Marco let him talk, he sighed mentaly, he hates this kind of people the most, when someone dont have the balls to say to the person's face is coward in his opinion. Finally after a long time they arrived in the meeting room, Marco marveled at the gold doors with lion engraving in the middle, two guards in silver armor opened the doors revealing many people crowded around the paper from what Marco could see.
"Ah Marco, you are here, come here boy, tell us what you think on this" Solarias voice broke others from their murmuring and thinking on paper, forcing them to look at him, some of them nodded while others kept straight faces. Marco rounded the table and stood on Solarias left side, he looked with confusion on papers trying to put together what they already have.
"hmmm...you want to expand the territory but are worried that monsters will crush you with brutal force right?" He asked for many noods and looks that demanded his attention and opinion which he happily obliged to.
"this strategy is very good for not big armies, especially if we are talking about hundreds of Mewans and thousands of monsters, then this tactic wont work, what you need is to take their forces quickly before they will reach the shields, the cavalry usage is very good to break their spirits but there is one problem here" he grabbed feather and started drawing, after minute of focus he finished drawing.
"as you can see here, not every monster is the same, they might put their strongest warriors on back as the final line of attack, then cavalry will die quickly creating an opening for them to escape, also, i added here few changes, the ovals in front of shielders and spearmans are what we called 'hell pit', a wide and deep hole in ground with easily flammable material, after monsters will rush they won't stop immediately, many of them will fall right in, then what is next is fire...they will literally burn alive , i know it might sound brutal but as on Earth we say, 'desperate times call for desperate measures', in order to win a war you can't rely on honor and fair fight, we MUST use any advantage we can, that's why i wrote this. Next we have soldiers in the forest, after monsters attack some of them might escape, those in the forests will kill or let them live, if they surrender they can join Mewni Kingdom, if not they will be killed. Also if they sent most of their group, they camp in forest might be vulnerable, we might use it to safely secure the forest, and THAT will gain us very important place, monsters might retrieve forces from front line in order to regain the forest, and for that i have an idea, but that's for later" Marco took deep breath, he looked at each of the, many looked with frowns and many was impressed and looked excited, especially Solaria who laughed at him strange idea.
"You have the brain kid, I must give you that, but how do you plan to eliminate the monsters after they come out of the forest? Our archers dont have such a range to strike them directly like that" she asked after calming herself from her fit of laughter, Marco smiled and explained.
"instead of archers we will put them on horses, if they are good they will manage to ride and kill enemies, if not they will simply fire few times and retreat some distance and repeat, till they reach the 'hell pit' then they will round and come to monsters sides and strike from their, while normal cavalry ensure archers will be safe by striking the confused monsters, as i said, in order to expand against bigger and stronger enemy you must use everything you have, be it fair or not fair, it's not about honor, honor don't exist on battlefield, it's kill or be killed, win or lose, and we want to win" he took dagger from nowhere and tucked it into the enemy forces, looking at generals in room he saw them agree to his idea.
"very well Marco, after preparations are done i want you there, you can took action if you want, i won't be attending, i have meeting with other kingdoms in terms of supplies, that's all for today's meeting" she stood as the rest of the room, Marco sighed knowing he will have explaining to do to Juliet, maybe he can persuade her to stay in bed and rest for the day.
"" hei'm going and there is nothing you can do Marco" Juliet said angrily with her body covered in bandages, Marco sighed, he knew it won't be easy, but he won't give up easily.
"kid, you can barely stand, tomorrow won't be much better, i don't want you to die there, especialy as good as you, trust me, you WILL have many chances to fight in small and big battles, heck i will allow you to join me on frontlines after the training, you will be able to fight properly, but now is not the time" he said with steel in his voice, his eyes not kind and warm but hard and glaring, she was looking straight in his eyes, but finally she crumbled under the pressure.
"Fine, I will take the day off but I want to train the moment you return" she snapped angrily with a glare, just like Janna could, even under intimidation she could demand things, Marco nodded and patted her shoulder.
"Rest kid, after my return i promise i will show you some techniques from Neverzone" he whispered the last words, Juliet eyes started shining, Marco knows Janna good enough to know how to get her interested. Marco exited the room and came to his own room to prepare for the fight that will occur in a few hours. He sat on his bed and unsheeted his blade, he gazed at the blade, his eyes reflecting in the blade, he focused on the blade, red from Juliet's blood.
"When will it be the first time for it to happen?" He thought with narrowed eyes, he saw the reflections, eyes got small veins around pulsing in purple color, one blink and they were gone, his own eyes staring right at him.
"i should sleep to regain energy" he sheathed his loyal but tricky friend and placed it under his bed, he checked if his dagger is in place, after confirming he took took his shirt off and laid in bed, hearing to the environment to make sure he is alone, after minutes of listening he allowed himself to doze off.
"Sir. Marco, it's time to wake up" Marco jolted awake at the sound of a female voice, in instinct he grabbed his dagger and threw it in the direction of the voice, he heard metal clashing against metal, he forced his eyes to fully awake from slumber.
"My my, it's not nice to throw toys at women, you know?" he heard her laugh, a blonde maid with her own dagger in hand, he realised she reflected his attack, his weapon embedded in the wall right behind her.
"who are you? '' he didn't ask, it was a demand, he must know what to expect.
"i'm your new maid Sir. Marco, after many of your servants spoke how brutal you are after waking they didn't wanted this position, so i was asked to take it, and now i realise why, this dagger under pillow and sword under the bed might scare any maid, adding your high senses and fast reaction they are probably scared for the rest of their lives, poor souls'' she giggled at the end, Marco was kinda weirded out, she was similar to one of the servants in Neverzone he met, the maid being able to fight and defend their guests and owners even if they must slaughter the whole place, he shuddered at the reminder.
"that's ok, i trust you on that, but let me make some things clear, if i found something fishy i won't hesitate to put end to your life, got it" he didn't asked, he demanded her agreement, which she give, she bowed and said she will be loyal to him and Solaria.
"Sir. Marco, the operation of expanding will happen in 2 days. Solaria wants to talk to you about something" She gave clean clothes on his bed,he sighed and walked into the bathroom to take shower. He is still confused by this woman, but maybe later he will have time to ask her a few questions. He sighed as warm water washed his body. Suddenly he got an unpleasant feeling, he glanced around but saw no one, if someone wanted to sneak in and kill him he had a dagger hidden in a towel, he must always be ready.
"Why do I have this weird feeling?" He thought as he walked through the castle to the throne room, midway he spotted many soldiers and guards looking at him, like they were waiting for something.
"Interesting" Marco thought and narrowed his eyes at the Mewans on his sides, right now he is in a very uncomfortable position, all of them are surrounding him, even if they are only standing doing nothing, if they decide to attack he must make distance between them.
"something fishy here" He wanted to ask someone what was going on but it would place him in an even tighter spot, for now he will play as he is oblivious to their stares. His grip on his sword tightened as his heart pounded more and more with each second as he neared the throne room. Finally he entered the place and spotted Solaria sitting on the throne, all these feelings dissipated at second doors closed behind him, he released the breath he didn't know he holded and kneeled in front of Solaria.
"Welcome Marco, i have a special task for you" Marco listened patiently to his superior intently.
Juliet's body aches after the harsh training her teacher Marco gave her, swinging her sword at the block of wood, fast and hard hits made her hands numb, Marco really kept his promise, but he said it's only start, that there will be more and more hardship she must endure, the swinging is nothing compared to the next training he will give her.
"Why did I accept?" she groaned in her mind as she walked through hallways after her wounds healed partially. She still needs to wear bandages, but at least they don't bleed anymore. She suddenly shuddered and felt her chest tighten, the only time that happened was in alleyway with Marco, her hand shook as she reminded herself of the creature, black, with sharp teeth and terrifying gaze that petryfied her in her place, the fear that gripped her heart and body made her pass out, something that she never did, even when monsters were killing her family she endured, she watched with wide teary eyes as monsters tore her father to bits leaving only few bones and blood behind, as they dragged her mother somewhere, probably to their camp to…
She shook her head, she didn't want to think about that, everyone knew what monsters are doing with captured womens and children, and this topic was forbidden to talk about. Finally she reached the dining hall, the place where she can eat normal food, that she dont need to steal and beg for, Juliet ignored the stares she got, they were looking at her from the first time she got there, after all, woman in army is something unheard of, everyone is saying that army is only for men, that woman is only to take care of family, that woman is 'incapable' of fighting and lifting a sword, the exception is Solaria of course, person who slaughtered hundred of monsters is most respected in whole Mewni, especially when the Queen is ruling Mewni from the first time this kingdom was made, Kings are second in command, the final word have Queen, they have magic and power to dominate their male counterparts, its sad that it only works in royalty and not in normal household.
Her life turned completely around when Marco arrived, he was someone she cant understand, men always are so simple, they eat, work, have kids and die, eventually go to war, she is 12 years kid who was stripped from her youth, she always fought for food or sleep, when David saved her from death she thought that maybe finally she will have home or at least eat and sleep in comfort, but she was wrong. David after her recovery sent her to a 'job' she stole, robbed and destroyed, all for food and a place to sleep. She was watching as many families lost everything they got, all because she wanted some comfort in life after what happened to her village. Those jobs David had were harder and harder after a while, from robbing and stealing from common people to reach more influential and more wealthy Mewans, that actually had guards around their houses, even in the middle of war they afforded to put guards and live in comfort, her first job was simple, 'infiltrated the house and get intel' nothing new, many times she got the similar quest, the only change was that she was visiting royalty, not commoners. Everything was good, she got past the front guard and entered the house, after minutes of sneaking around she managed to open the doors to the office where all papers were held. After nearly getting killed by one guard she arrived at David's house, but instead of David she met someone who was his boss, he told her she is working for her now, she asked where David is, the answer she got was his head rolling down the stairs, she wanted to run but she knew if she do then she will die, and she really didn't wanted to so she agreed. The next jobs were not only stealing and robbing, they contained killing and kidnappings, something she didn't agree on, but the choice were simple, do the job or die, and Juliet really, REALLY didn't wanted to die so she did the job, in span of months she killed many Mewans and captured men, woman and children alike, she was disgusted with everything she was doing so she formulated a plan and escaped, nearly 2 months of freedom 'the boss' found her and demanded repayment for everything he did for her, the price were enormous, the price only highest of Royalty could afford, 100 thousand gold coins, normal people are making at the best 300 gold coins in year, how in hell could she make so much money in few months. After agonizing brainstorm she stumbled onto real diamond, the rumors on black market were that one merchant had a ring that belonged to Solaria, worth nearly 300 thousands gold, that was her freedom, of course many like her would try to steal the prize, but her living quarters were the closest to the man and his ring. After not so hard to steal and run she could taste the freedom, she would pay 'the boss' and be free, she would hire a tutor to teach her how to fight with sword and then find monsters who slaughtered her family, the plan was perfect. But of course her luck must run out just in the right moment, she run in alley without exit, when she turned to run out of trap she saw Marco, he wasn't hostile, his hands held high, it confused and scared her over the edge, her hand started shaking uncontrollably, Juliet tried to force her hand to stop, Marcos voice sounded similar to Davids, but more gentle and caring, but she had plan she wanted to end, her freedom was right there, past Marco, when she wanted to pass him, they both engaged in fight...well it was more one sided fight, Marco just kept dodging, not even experienced guards could do something like that so casually, he didn't looked much older than 18, so why was he so experienced in fighting, it shocked her. But the bigger shock was when he casually kicked her through the wooden fence, hit was so powerful that all air escaped her ungs, she couldn't breathe for a moment, when she gathered strength and stood Marco had a rusty sword in his hand. The next thing she knew was that something nearly gave her heart attack, and that wasn't Marco, it was something else, something she couldn't explain, something unnatural and unusual, something that even Solaria maybe can't do, something...something not from Mewni.
"So many weird things happened in a short time...maybe i should ask Marco how he did this thing with shadows" She exhaled as she ended her meal, corn with a piece of meat with corn sauce.
"why Mewni has only corn to it, it's infuriating" She groaned at the thought, everyday she is eating the same...and it's only her second day, and Juliet is already hating it.
"Hey there, can I sit with you?" Juliet's head snapped upwards in the direction of the voice, quiet and melodious, blonde girl with bright blue eyes, her face formed with worry, worry for rejection probably.
"Sure, I don't mind" Juliet gestured to the empty seat opposite her, which blue eyed person took, her face changed from worry to happiness, Juliet's own face sported a small grin.
"I'm Charlotte, it's nice to meet you" she extended her hand which Juliet took and shook.
"I'm Juliet, it's nice to meet you Charlotte" after a handshake a light conversation was made between both girls, friendship quickly blossomed between them, it was clearly a fate interference that both of them met.
While two girls were happily chatting in the other part of the castle Marco and Solaira had dinner, the request she asked him about was very confusing and weird. He knows about marriage between Eclipsa and the little shit who nearly killed her if not Globgor.
"You want me to protect Eclipsa at the party tonight...you suspect that her future husband is fishy and will try to do something to her right?" Marco asked after swallowing, Solaria nodded and sighed, exhaustion clearly on her face, he rarely saw her in that state.
"yes, that what i want you to do, Shastacans Kingdom is very helpful to our war, they are sending food and medicine to us, of course nothing is free, they want hand of my daughter in exchange, i disagreed at first but there was little i could do, an ultimatum that Eclipsa knows about, i told her about it the moment agreement was made, she wasn't happy of course, but the 'greater good' as we use to say is more important that her wellbeing, politics in this times are more important than human lives, she agreed to Marry him to help our kingdom, we both and now you Marco, we know that he dont love her as a woman, he only wants child and money the marriage will provide, Eclipsa was prolonging the inevitable for the longest time she could, Shastacan grew desperate, he WILL try to do something, if not now then in near future, and i have a bad feeling about it, that's why i want you to protect my daughter from him, i KNOW you are capable, i saw what you did to that young woman in alleyway, so don't lie you are not strong to finish the task" she ended with stern gaze that made Marco shrink a little in his sit, if she wasn't happy and cheerful person she was 'leader', hard, brutal and demanding, he was curious how fast she could change from one to another. Marco nodded and kept eating, he was focused on his food while thinking on what can happen tonight, from kidnaping to monster assault, either way he will be to challenge everything as per Solarias order.
"I'm glad you accepted the order, good luck boy" That was Marcos' clue to leave, he quickly left the dinner room to find Juliet, he must tell her that today is ball and she is one of the front door guards, something he decided himself. After minutes of walking aimlessly through the castle he finally found her, but not alone, a girl resembling Star from Earth he knew, he shivered once again at the word encounter, it seems like everyone from Earth is someone in here.
"Juliet...why don't you present me to your new friend?" he asked when he was close enough, both of them spotted him, 'Star' looked confused between Marco and Juliet.
"of course, this is Charlotte, i met her today in dining hall, it surprising how fast we kicked off, we are now best friends, this guy here is my teacher, " she put her arm around blonde girl who smiled but didn't met her gaze, Marco raised eyebrow at the weird behavior.
"right...it's nice to meet you Charlotte, i'm here only to tell you that you are on front door guard tonight, Solaria is organising ball with neighborhood royalty, i won't accompany you, i have other task...you can bring your new friend for company if you want, if something will happen i will take fault got it? so don't stress yourself so much" he sighed as he saw the look both of them gave him, two girls embraced themselves and squealed, it reminded him so much of Jackie and Star...why Jackie he had no idea.
"Thank you so much Sir. Marco" Charlotte bowed her head with a smile, Marco said she can lift her head, that she can call him by his first name, after all, all Juliets friends are his friends and vice versa.
"Now you better get ready, I know from experience how much time a woman can spend to get ready, you two are no exception" he laughed and runned as two outraged females runned at him, he of course was faster and quickly lost them around corners of the castle.
"Sir. Marco, your clothes are ready for tonight" Marco threw a vase at the voice as he entered his room, he heard quite a laugh and saw his new maid holding an object in front of her face, he sighed, she realy is good at her job.
"as i said before you interrupted be so rudely, your clothes are ready on that chair, you are expected to escort Eclipsa in 3 hours from now on, bath is ready as well" she bowed and exited his room, throwing vase in air, Marco focused his eyes at the thing which landed perfectly in the spot it was before.
"just who the fuck is she" he though angrily, he decided to relax in hot water for some time, he has 3 hours for himself, he will use it as best as he can, he relaxed in bathtube and closed his eyes, he didnt notice when his mind went blank.
" , it's time for you to get ready, only 20 minutes left" Marcos survival instincts kicked off at the sound, he springed from the place and threw himself at the person, he heard quiet yelp and his eyes finally adjusted to light, he was face to face with his maid, water dripping from his naked body on hers. He realised he is naked after a few seconds, he quickly got up and wrapped himself in a towel, his face had a slight blush.
"Now I know why Solaria slept with you " Marco turned to her but she was already out of the room, he sighed knowing the next few encounters with her will be weird and embarrassing for him.
Marco put the clothes on, white plain shirt with red cape, black pants, and ankle high leather brown boots, they weren't made to fight, but he must endure them for this night, he strapped everything on, including his trusted 'Alpha' sword on his hip, two daggers in each boot and second short sword on his back, better be safe than sorry, if Solarias prediction will happen tonight then he will be expecting everything, he will protect Eclipsa even if it means he will die doing it.
"few minutes left, better be there on time" Marco did as he said to himself, closing doors behind him, he saw at the end of corridor Juliet with her friend in gold and silver armor, their helmets in one hand, spear in other and sword at hip, he nodded and turned around, both girls did the same and walked to their posts.
"Tonight will be rough," he said as he glared at the moon in red, shining right at him. He knows what can happen, but maybe little shit won't try to play so dirty and low, Marco calmed himself and sharpened his mind. He must be at his best tonight.
AN: SORRY FOR SUCH DELAY IN PUBLISH BUT THE INTERNET IN MY PLACE WAS CUT OFF FOR SOME WEIRD REASON, I DON'T KNOW DETAILS BUT IT WAS BECAUSE SOME RETARD DECIDED TO PULL OF ALL PINTS WHERE INTERNET WAS DISTRIBUTED, AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT I WAS TOLD, TO SAY THE TRUTH I THINK IT'S SOMETHING ELSE BUT WHO CARES, WHAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT IS THAT I'M FINALLY UP AND RUNNING. FOR SOME TIME I'M PLANNING FOCUS ON THIS BOOK ALONE, TO BE SURE I WILL HAVE CHAPTERS READY IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPEN, NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE IN WEEK OR SOONER IF I'M LUCKY ENOUGH, SEE YOU ALL SOON, PLEASE TELL ME IN COMMENTS IF SOMETHING NEED TO BE CHANGED OR REPAIRED, LIKE GRAMMAR ETC.
